Word of mouth marketing has historically been an effective but difficult form of marketing for companies to execute. Research can show that consumers are more likely to make a purchase from a business or select a product if it is personally recommended.
Internet companies have consistently tried to capture recommendations or ratings to share on their websites. Most Internet companies require users to log on to a website, look up the product/service they want to recommend, and then submit a rating. This requires very proactive participation from the user and is not an efficient process.
Generally consumers are more likely to recommend a small business or product at the point they are actually experiencing it. For example, a consumer that enjoys a new restaurant is much more likely to recommend it immediately after the meal compared to adding a recommendation to a website the next time they are at their computer.
A need therefore arises for a method and apparatus for sharing end user feedback.